Of the 6 major sports, does basketball require the least amount of skill?

football because there are so many positions you can play.

Interesting topic, really interesting that despite this being a basketball site, basketball is not dominating the voting...

Making a basket is probably easier than anything else listed. Further, someone without any basketball knowlege or experience can still get out for a game and play without looking too foolish. Worst happens, you miss a shot (everyone does) your guys scores on you (so what, everyone is scored on).

But, to that end, since scoring a basket is so easy (compare to other sports, ball goes in 40-60 times a game, runs/goals/TD score 3-4 times a game) stopping the basket is insanely hard.

Further, the comparison between other sports is largely unfair. Baseball and golf are about fine motor skills. The position of the fingers when holding the ball, swinging the club. The gross motor..swinging the arms, jumping, are useful, but not primary. Basketball and football is all gross motor skills. Big, broad movements dominate--(though I'm sure R.Allen and R.Miller will tell you their finger tips are the whole game).

All that being said, ice hockey seems impossible.

[QUOTE=28renyoy]yet you see far more undersized players in the nfl than you do in the nba[/QUOTE]
I assume by undersized you just mean height.. you could easily flip that around and say basketball players are undersized a lot of times too in terms of weight[look at Durant dominating the league in scoring.. he would get broken in half in any true contact sport].

For skill most needed to least I'd put it :

Hockey
Baseball
Soccer
Basketball



Football

For football you can just be an athletic freak and get by on that purely. Most guys in the NBA are actually extremely skilled at dribbling the ball, shooting, passing etc.. all skills. A lot of the guys in the NFL can run and lift extremely well.. which really aren't skills. The QB is the biggest skill position in football though.

I wouldve said this discussion is pointless, but it does expose a lot of things in certain posters.

Basketball is one of the hardest.

[QUOTE=OKC Adonis]Hitting a baseball is probably one of the hardest things to do in sports at the Pro level.

Getting on base is even harder.

I am 6'2", I have a chance to score a basket against certain NBA players(short point guards for example). I may go 1 for 25 but I have a chance.

I have a much less chance of hitting a baseball by a Pro pitcher.[/QUOTE]
If you had a professional NBA player guarding you on the wing, you probably wouldn't even be able to put the ball on the floor without it getting poked away, much less actually get a shot off. Even if we gave you the shortest, worst point guard in the league, like Derek Fisher for example, he would still manhandle you.

And whose to say you would get a shitty PG on you? Thats like putting me up against the worst pitcher in the MLB. Chances are you would fail in both scenarios if you played an average pitcher/basketball player.

And to the example of being able to just throw it up and eventually it will go in, I could just stick the bat out for a bunt and eventually I would hit it.

Obviously Durant would hit the weight if he were a football player but didnt Randy Moss just finish up a 12 year career? He was tall in comparison to the people guarding him and he didnt get snapped in half. Wes Welker isnt dead. Desean Jackson is still unbroken, slender/skinny wideouts are in the league too.

[QUOTE=PowerGlove]Obviously Durant would hit the weight if he were a football player but didnt Randy Moss just finish up a 12 year career? He was tall in comparison to the people guarding him and he didnt get snapped in half. Wes Welker isnt dead. Desean Jackson is still unbroken, slender/skinny wideouts are in the league too.[/QUOTE]
There are way more low weight/BMI players in the NBA than in the NFL.. that was the point.

[IMG]http://www.bballcentral.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kevin-durant.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/1011/nfl_g_moss_350.jpg[/IMG]

And Randy Moss isn't even close to Durants skinnyness.. Moss would actually be an average weight perimeter player in the NBA despite being one of the thinnest in the NFL.

Here is my list of major American sports, based on skill, hardest to easiest.


1. Golf - the entire sport is based on skill. I have friends who are shorter and weaker than me that consistently out-drive me, and out-play me.

2. Baseball - another sport that requires mostly skill. Speed, stamina, and strength are nice, but not required.

3. Hockey - they play on ice. Most people can't even ice skate, let alone play a sport while skating.

4. Basketball - requires a combination of skills using both the hands and feet. I would love to rank bball higher, but the sport is highly reliant on size and athleticism as well. That's why many claim Basketball has the greatest athletes in the World.

5. Football - the positions in football make the sport more specialized. Only the QB position requires as many skills as some of the other sports mentioned.

Golf is not a sport, its a game. Its as much a sport as bowling, shooting pool, or throwing darts. Are those sports too? :facepalm

[QUOTE=tpols][IMG]http://www.bballcentral.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/kevin-durant.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/1011/nfl_g_moss_350.jpg[/IMG]

And Randy Moss isn't even close to Durants skinnyness.. Moss would actually be an average weight perimeter player in the NBA despite being one of the thinnest in the NFL.[/QUOTE]

My point was Durant wouldnt look the same if he went to nfl.

[QUOTE=PowerGlove]My point was Durant wouldnt look the same if he went to nfl.[/QUOTE]
Durant is like 6'11 and he has very narrow shoulders.. he doesn't have a build to ever get big. Randy is only 6'4. If you saw Randy in person he could look like your average tall guy. If he wanted, he could be jacked as hell I bet. Durant on the other hand, would make you turn your head twice if you saw him in person. He's way taller and lankier. I dont think his build would last for one minute in the NFL.

You have to remember Moss was an elite sprinter.. like one of the best football has ever seen. And it was all natural. Durant could never approach his athleticism or speed. All he has on him is reach.

All sports require a good amount of skill. For sports like basketball and football you can pretty much get away with lack of skills by having supreme size and athletic ability. In basketball you can literally have no skills but as long as you are a 7 footer and you would play at the D-League at the worst. :oldlol: Size matters a lot in basketball. It takes a lot of skill at the same time but size is probably the most important thing.

Even though basketball and football may take the least skill, it still requires a lot. You can get away with having no or lack of skills in those two sports but I really doubt you can get away with that in many other ones.

[QUOTE=JohnnySic]Golf is not a sport, its a game. Its as much a sport as bowling, shooting pool, or throwing darts. Are those sports too? :facepalm[/QUOTE]

Yes, all those are sports too. Just because they don't require you to run around as much doesn't mean they aren't sports.

We can all find position/participants in each sport that dont have much skill.